Arizona weekly citizen., 1887-05-21
TEXAS PANHANDLE.
A GLIMPSE OF SOME OF ITS SOCIAL
 INSTITUTIONS.

Population Over Which the State ans
 Nation Have Practically No Civil o
 Criminal Jurisdiction-Everybo III
 Own Lawyer.
 If the truth were known. the Pan handle of Texas would be voted the politi cal social and material curiosity of thi. country. There Is nothing like it in thi country or any other country. It i. strictly original, stands out by itself an, freezes on to is peculiarities with a stead iastness characteristic of America in gen eral and Texas iu particular.
 The Panhandle covers a territory about as large as the state of New York. It ex tends from the Indian territory on th, north, almost to the Texas t Pacific rail road. on the south, and from New Mexico or-ihe west almost to the Fort Worth X Denver railroad on the east. It is larvei than many European countries that sing loud in an international chorus. Within its confines are mountains and forests. lakes and streams, valleys and rivers. iron mines, copper mines. silver mines, coal mines that are known of. and pcrhaD. much more mineral wealth that Is mol known of- haulets, ranches. caves, mesas. mineral springs, steep preCipiCcs. shady groves and many NCrdaut plains
 The Panhandle is divided into fifty three counties. but not more than six or seven of them are organized The TE-oDle of the Panhandle have a very supreme contempt for law. and have no: much more use for a sheriff or an attorney than they have for a grass burner Cr cattle thief When the word law" is used. it should bS remembered that it applies 10 the onactmeu;s of what the Panhandle folks contemptuously term the Austin law factory There is an uuWrittcn code in the Panhandle, and woe Co the man who violates it A man must not steal cattle in the Panhandle; neither must he cut fences, burn srgzs. Ill up wells with earth. break dams or Eill a man in cold blood. There are les than 100 women in the Panha-llc. and they are all good women There are no jails la the region. iues are loOkcl upon with contempt, and the only punishment awarded Co those who violate the code of tLe re zion is death or expulsion. 1T a man kills another in a fight he has tO answer before uo Law court his right to kill man in a fair light Is not questioned.
 JUDGE LTNCH's JUSTICE.
 If man kills another by stealth-that k, If he steals up behind him and plunges a knife iu his back or shoots him unawares -Judge Lynch immsdia-ely takes hold of the offender. administers rigid justice devoid of techuicalties or quibbles or stays of proceeding and fl the murdS- was cold-blooded and cowardly the murderer is more certain of being hanged than he would be in St. Louis, Chicago. New York, EH.-I- s H..H-a 1T a man k convicted of cattle stealing before Judge Lynch he Is certain Of being hanged. II a man is caught cutting d fence or setting fire to grass he is shot down without hesitation. or if subsequently arraiCned before Judge Lynch and it Is shown on testimony. direct or Circumstan- tial, that he was guilty Of the oiensc, he will be hanged. This is about all the care they have in the Panhandle. X man must take care of himself He must fight his own battles. Ii be is not able tO light, fl he Is afraid to fight, if he has any prejudice against fighting, he had better seek some other location than the Panhandle of Texas for an abiding place. In fact, the Panhandle might be described as one vast region devoid of law, defying law, getting along comfortably without law.
 or course the great majority of the Pan handle people are not addicted Co reminis- cence. The man who receives mail matter from a former home in another state is rarity. But. of course. there are eNcep- tions No doubt many Panhandle men could prove that they gre wearing the same name now that they inherited from their parents But it Is not considered good tasJ. iu the Panhandle to be too in- quisitivc. and the man who persists in delvins into the affairs of another man is almost certain to have fight on his hands without unnecessary delay.
 The people are social, hOspitable and generous The ethical code of the region forbids any inquiry concerning @ stranger. If the new arrival wants a job at wire punching or line riding it is taken foi granted that il is his intention 10 become a permanent resident; If he loGfs around without attempting to secure a job at an -- thing he becomes an object of suspicion. Detectives sometimes have the Lardihuol to penetrate the Panhandle, but if they should De suspected they are invariably treated t0 hOspitable graves. Detectives and law officers are not wanted and will not be tolerated in the Panhandle. The permanent sojourners in the region make mo pretense Of denying that they are there because of n disagreement with the rules of action prescribed by law in the regions whence they came. It is a republic of tol- erat!on. and mind your own business is the cOnstitution.-COr. GlObe-DemOcraJ